Jesus heard those shouts of "Kill him" on the cross. He saw people delight in his suffering and death.

And he repudiated violence in his living and teaching. Remember? Jesus preached, "Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the humble. Blessed are the peacemakers."

What would Jesus think of "Christian" and "cage fighting" placed side by side?

Now, I'm all in favor of reaching out with Christ to all people, including martial arts practitioners. But the Christ I know and believe in, the Christ I invite people to trust themselves to is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

He is the God of gentleness and compassion, the God who makes himself known in weakness and humility--not in power. He's the God who dies on the cross for his opponents, not the god who nails his opponents and then struts around in celebration, hands upraised in Rocky-Balboa fashion.

So, Christians, evangelical and otherwise: go on reaching out to non-Christians with praise bands and cappuccino and blue jean worship and hipster clergy, but not with cage fighting, too. Please anything but that.

2 comments:

I'm not even Christian, but I realize the need to express one's feelings and emotions thru a physical activity. For me it is drawing, reading, or running. Although I myself am not a fan of cage fighting, I can understand and appreciate the reasons behind it, at least for the people involved. Sometimes we only have so many ways to prove ourselves.

I watched an interview about this story on Nightline, and heard a woman say the only thing that brought Christian cage fighting into perspective. She said "You're not going to find the broken people in church. A bar is a much better place to look."

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About Me

I was born in Louisville, KY. I am a proud Kentuckian and Louisvillian, I am also, by adoption, a proud Missourian, I am married to Penny. We met as undergraduates at the University of Louisville. She works in IT but regards herself, vocationally, as a painter. We have a daughter, Ckare, and two granddaughters, June Elizabeth and Christa Marie. I earned my bachelor's degree in history with honors at U of L. I worked in banking for several years, then for several years more in journalism and public relations as a writer, editor , and account manager. My background in finance, administration, and communication has been a blessing in my service to God. I earned my master's in divinity at The General Theological Seminary in NewYork City, I most recently earned another master's degree, this one from Missouri State University in English, with a creative writing emphasis. Since high school, I have been an avid writer, my work appearing in local, regional and national publications, including Sojourners, The Other Side, The Christian Century. While in seminary, I did freelance writing for the Episcopal Church and wrote three chapters of The Christian Sourcebook, published by Ballantine. I still write--fiction and poetry, essays for my online journal, and occasional newspaper columns. I have been rector of Christ Episcopal Church, Springfield, MO since 1995. I love the church and, most of all, the people,who love and serve Jesus. I love preaching, teaching,,writing and taking an active part in civic and community leadership.